My sports weekend has already been ruined when Steph Curry left what became a blowout loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday night in Oakland with an abductor strain. Curry had been on a rampage until then, accumulating a 29.5 scoring average, along with averaging 6.1 assists and 5.0 rebounds per game. He had topped the 30 point mark six times early in this season, including a high mark of 51 versus Washington. Curry was making 49.2% of his three point shots.
Curry’s NBA history shows that he has been oft-injured. My fear is that this trend will continue and shorten his career. But what a career it has been thus far. Which is why I treasure watching him perform in an NBA game—I have seen no other guard like him. It’s not that I didn’t appreciate John Stockton, Steve Nash, Kyrie Irving, Earl Monroe and many other talented and flashy guards who can pass and shoot too. I just find Steph Curry to be different than those who played before him and who compete against him. His attitude and aptitude set him apart from his forebearers and peers, and maybe those who might succeed him. Curry’s incredible shot making from anywhere on the court and his court awareness is unbelievable. He is why I have a Warriors shirt and try to watch as many of their games as are televised.
So when he is injured, I feel a piece of me is hurt, too. I am less likely to put on an NBA game because Curry isn’t in the lineup. When the Warriors are on, I root for them, but I am much more uncertain that they might be winners. Thankfully, sources say this is not going to be a serious or debilitating injury, keeping that would keep Curry on the shelf for a long period of recovery and rehabilitation.
I marvel at how Lebron James and Michael Jordan survived the grind of NBA seasons. Their durability adds to their enormous accomplishments. That is something that unfortunately will not be within Steph Curry’s control, and will likely shorten his career.
What he has done is phenomenal. What could have been would have been beyond imagination had he stayed healthy. I can always dream…
That leads to my topic of the week: sporting games and locales I would like to be able to see a sporting event. This comes on the heels of my daughter having been in Baton Rouge last Saturday to witness #1 Alabama handily defeat #3 LSU, silencing a raucous Tigers crowd in the process. That game, for any college football geek, is as good as it gets—from both a football perspective and a crowd and tailgating extravaganza.
As you know, I am in the midst of attending a game in all of the MLB teams’ parks. All that are left are ball games in Tropicana Field, Busch Stadium, Royals Stadium, Miller Park , U.S. Cellular Field and Fenway Park. That is a baseball nut’s dream. I have seen an A.L.C.S. game, Game 1 of the 1971 World Series and 2 All-Star games, including one from the second row behind the American League dugout at the old Yankee Stadium. Not too shabby.
Everybody has their fantasies. Sports fans certainly maintain theirs. That my daughter went to Alabama-LSU got me thinking about what games I really would like to see. I will attempt to keep this reasonable in its scope, because to be outlandish would make me think that my ego is too big.
For college football, I have seen Notre Dame play. Ohio State and Wisconsin too. I was there when Rutgers defeated #3 Louisville. I have been to Penn-Princeton and to the Yale Bowl and Franklin Field for games. Lehigh-Lafayette was always a dream game because of the number of times the rivalry has continued; I was so fortunate to see the 150th renewal at Yankee Stadium. I have seen part of the Little Three with Williams at Wesleyan. The list goes on.
My dream games involve ones at UCLA and Southern Cal, or if they played each other. Being a native of Georgia, I want to see the ‘Dawgs between the hedges in Athens.
I never had the chance to see Penn State play at home when my daughter attended. Thus I would love to see Rutgers, who I have never seen on the road, play at Beaver Stadium, then see them at High Points Solutions Stadium.
I would love to see Columbia host a game. In my youth when I read the Sunday New York Times, it seemed almost mystical when the Lions hosted an Ivy League opponent. Alumni Field at Dartmouth is one of my favorite little stadiums; I would like to see a game there.
From what my daughter told me, LSU seems like an awesome venue. Maybe I can get there.
Harvard-Yale, Ohio State-Michigan, Auburn-Alabama, Florida-Georgia, Oklahoma-Texas, or any in-state rivalry game have an aura to them. But they are not what I would like to see. It is too cold for Army-Navy in early December. I am not a Notre Dame fan; I was satisfied seeing Notre Dame Stadium at 7:30 a.m. when the grounds crew was cutting the grass.
As to hockey, I have a few places I would like to see. The Bell Centre in Montreal is number one on my list. If it could be any of the Canadian teams playing the Habs, especially Toronto, that would be sweet. My son and I have plans to see the New Jersey Devils on a road swing to Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver. If I could find a way to see a game in both Ottawa and Winnipeg, then I would have seen home games for all of the Canadian teams.
What also would be neat is seeing games in Detroit, Chicago and Boston, thus completing the Original Six. Beyond that, I have never seen a Flyers game in Philadelphia. That needs to be rectified. Plus, I need to see the Islanders in the Barclays Center and then in their new home by Belmont Park to know that I have seen the metropolitan area teams in all of their venues they have played in since I was born.
My pro football list is very short. I need to see the Jets on the road. Over 40 years as a season ticket holder, I have not once seen my team away from Shea Stadium, Giants Stadium or Met Life Stadium. I saw the Eagles play the Redskins at R.F.K. Stadium in 1971. It didn’t do much for me other than freeze me. Maybe that’s my aversion to being another NFL stadium or two.
College basketball is fairly easy, too. The Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill is at the top of the list. Pauley Pavilion at UCLA is next. Those two arenas are synonymous with great college basketball.
Third on my list is the venerable and old Palestra in Philadelphia. I grew up watching Big Five games televised from there. While it is ratty and old like Franklin Field, Penn’s home stadium, I need to see it one time based on the nostalgia aspect. And that’s it.
With baseball, I would like to see certain matchups. Dodgers-Angels, White Sox-Cubs, A’s-Giants, Royals-Cardinals, Astros-Rangers, Indians-Reds, Dodgers-Padres, Twins-Brewers, both Chicago teams and the Brewers, Orioles-Nats, Tigers-White Sox are all based on geography, thereby creating the mystique. I have seen the Red Sox and the Yankees, the Phillies and the Yankees. Pirates-Yankees still interests me because my daughter spent so much time in Pittsburgh and I still haven’t gotten over Bill Mazeroski’s homer in the 1960 World Series. Generally, Yankees games with NL opponents interest me because of their rarity. That is too many games; I would be happy with one or two of the above-mentioned rivalries.
Finally, in pro basketball, I would like to see the Lakers at the Staples Center and the present Golden State Warriors team at home and on the road. If the Knicks or Sixers happen to be playing in the Bay Area or in LA, all the better. I have been to Boston Garden, three arenas in Philadelphia, and Cleveland. Maybe Chicago and the United Center are a curiosity; it won’t bring back Michael Jordan (who I saw play the Nets at the then-Continental Airlines Arena), but I will have some perspective.
That’s a lot of travel and a lot of miles. I have a very patient and understanding wife. She loves to travel.
I really don’t expect that I will see even half of these fantasies. Which is why I made a list of 40 area restaurants. That is more realistic to do and my wife might more readily go on these trips if I entertain and wine and dine her. Except that she read the blog and I may have blown my chances.
Which is why these pie-in-the-sky ideas are called fantasies…
No comments:
Post a Comment